Now I didn't expect this movie to be this good at all. I thought it would be Hellboy at its best (fun and exciting to watch, but is not deep enough to really stir your insides), and Ghost Rider at its worst (I got that vibe from the teaser trailer). But it turns out this movie can actually duke it out with the best of the best like Spider-Man 2, X2, Superman: The Movie, and Batman Begins. I'm not saying this movie is actually better than those great films (Iron Man is less refined and polished in terms of its narrative style than those films), but I wouldn't bE angered or surprised if someone tells me it's their fave comic book movie yet. I need the DVD now!!

POSITIVES:
1. Cast
A. Robert Downey Jr.- AMAZING performance. He carried the crazy dialogue well and better than most actors could have. But it's given that Downey could pull off the crazy and funny aspect of the character, but what of the serious scenes? He does it even better. He gets so intense sometimes it gets scary. His transformation from useless playboy to superhero is worth double the ticket price.
B. Terrence Howard- He doesn't much have substance in this movie, but his character is memorable. He's a very likeable ordinary guy, and the audience identifies with him, his reactions and actions toward Stark would be ours too if we were in his position. The "Next time" scene literally sent giggles of geekiness down the audience's throats, including mine.
C. Gwyneth Paltrow- Now I've heard great things about her performance before entering the theatre so I had high expectations for her. Great chemistry with Downey: true. Best superhero romance ever: NO. She's not bad, but not THAT good either.
D. The extras- The robot was funny, memorable, and lovable. The ten-ring terror group should have been the main villain. Not Obadiah Stane.

2. THE ACTION/ EFFECTS- the action scenes were very few. But boy, were they great. That attack on terrorists could have gone longer, but Iron Man is relentless and intimidating in his action scenes. I've never seen any superhero move as cool as Iron Man in this movie. The Mark III suit looked amazing from any angle, and Downey's first suit-up is the best suit-up ever. The CGI was very good, it is up to the standard set by Transformers.

3. DIRECTION- In Jon Favreau I now Trust. He knows how to treat his characters, he doesn't lose focus of the story, he doesn't pull punches, he has moral and social messages effectively addressed without being preachy, and he knows where to put and how to execute the action scenes. His vision for this new franchise is as brilliant as Raimi's and Nolan's vision for their respective characters. And the fact that his first movie with Iron Man is more mature and sophisticated than Raimi's first Spidey, I have very high hopes for the sequel.

NEGATIVES:
1. The Music- aside from the classic rock tracks from AC/DC and Black Sabbath, the music lacked the energy, uniqueness and voice that the movie should have had.

2. The climax- Iron Monger vs. Iron Man. It lacked the epicness and grandness needed to pull off a memorable climax. There's a hollow and rushed feeling to it. The story didn't flow naturally towards the climax. It really would have been better if the Afghan terrorists were involved in the final fight.

3.. Jeffrey Bridges- A very different role for him here. Although Bridges' performance was good, I thought his transformation from Stark supporter to Stark enemy is brilliant, I really don't think his character was good enough to be a main villain. I thought he would have worked perfectly as a supporting villain to the Afghanist terrorists. Like scarecrow to the league of Shadows. He provided little tension to the final fight with Stark, unlike Iron Man's fight with the terrorists which provided real tension due to the village people they were abusing.

All in all, a very good movie. Has the action, humor, and character development needed to make a successful superhero movie. Even if the main villain and final fight disappoints, the character of Tony Stark alone makes the movie really good. Jon Favreau has crafted a mature, sophisticated, and socially relevant movie, with a main character that will be remembered for a long long time.